New Legere American Cut Synthetic Reed
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- Опубликовано: 23 авг 2024
- As far as I'm concerned, this is the best Legere reed yet. I've always liked the Signature, but this takes the response and tone to a new level. There's a nice degree of natural sax buzz, and it doesn't sound 'hollow' or 'alternative' like some synthetics do!
Order the American cut!
Alto - sax.co.uk/coll...
Tenor - sax.co.uk/coll...
Blind Test Answers:
Reed 1: D'Addario Select Jazz
Reed 2: Legere American Cut
Thanks for the thorough and honest review, Jim! It is wonderful to hear that you like our new reed.
@Macca Mcsorley Hope you enjoy! The reviews have been positive so far, so if you like Jim's tone in the video I'm sure you'll be pleased. Let us know!
Will an american cut come out for baritone anytime soon?
It Sounds awesome 💪🏽. I am an Leverett Reed Artist John JSaxx Watkins and I have been trying to get in touch with you Legere I want to try the American Cut my email is johnjsaxx@gmail.com
@@jsaxxwatkins4342 you might try Legere's site for that. Good luck!
Tried my first Legere reed today, American cut. It took me ten seconds to decide I would never buy another cane reed.
haha same here
Completely agreed. Truly a great thing.
I have played every type of Legere reed for the past 2 years for alto sax and I found on Selmer mouthpieces that I have played, the S80 C**, modern Soloist E and Claude Delangle, the signatures have responded the best to me on them as they gave me a bit of resistance, not much buzz and a bit of a dark sound, not as dark as cane reed but what I want for classical playing.
When I tried them on other mouthpieces that have a thinner tip and or side rails such as a Vandoren V16 A5M, JodyJazz HR* 6M and Rousseau Studio Jazz 6, I found they didn't respond as well as they were either too resistant or not enough resistance with either a buzzy sound that didn't feel right or a too resistant airy sound and nothing in-between that I needed. I instead played D'addario Select Jazz Unfiled on them and La Voz on the Jody Jazz HR*
I had a Selmer Soloist E that I didn't play much as I found it resistant in the low notes and overall it stayed in tune well but too resistant with the Signature reeds. I tried different ligatures but nothing worked. Then I won an American Cut 2.25 reed and tried it. It responded better with the right amount of resistance. It was a bit brighter, richer with a slight buzz and low notes came out easier which I liked on the Soloist and it sounded liked a good crossover Classical/Jazz mouthpiece. I then tried a 2 reed and got a more easier playing, vibrant, brighter response, same as Jim demonstrated on the Tenor reeds and I liked it more.
Overall I have tried most synthetic reeds on my alto sax mouthpieces with different results:
Legere Classic: The Softest strength 1.75 was too resistant and airy for me to play.
Studio Cut: One strength was quite bright and next quarter strength up was more resistant and darker. I like the amount of resistance, but they were a bit straight sounding for me.
Fibracell: Too bright and buzzy.
G Reeds: they feel too much like plastic reeds and don't like their sound.
Forestone Hinoki bamboo reeds: They play a bit like Signature reeds but Signature's have less of a buzz and slightly more depth and more strength options. Hinoki reeds don't have enough strength options as all strengths play a bit soft and buzzy for me to play on.
Out of all of the synthetic reeds I have played, I like the Signature reeds the best on Selmer mouthpieces for classical playing and I really like the new American Cuts, especially how well they respond to me on thinner tip mouthpieces where Signature reeds just didn't play well for me at all and I think they work best for Jazz/pop/funk types of sound.
I like the new case Legere made and how it holds the reed so nothing is touching the front of the reed on the sides at the bottom half so there is no chance for the reed to have pressure on the top half which could warp the reed. I feel the case is a little big though, especially when you can get multi reed cases that take up the same space as 2 or so of the Legere reed cases do, but its a nice addition.
I'd say Reed 2 ist the Legere American Cut. Sounds much more colorful, much more vibrant, and with more overtones.
I am playing Legere Signature since a while, and I found these are a real revelation. As you say - an important aspect is the feel for the player... Just great! (And with a Jody Jazz mpc it's a perfect combination!)
Since I put a Legere American Cut on my Xmas wishlist, I suppose I'll be able to check that one out very soon, too. :)
And thanks for the video. Always a pleasure hearing you play and discuss!
Your reviews are the best, and the most credible. Thank you!
I purchased a 2.5 American Cut for my alto, and I really like it. I sound less bad with the American Cut vs the Signature.
I use a Legere American cut 1.75 on my alto. Love the response in all registers on a Meyer 6m . Word of warning though, especially for the softer Leger reeds; handle with care. The first one I bought split too easily. I am much more careful now.
An awesome British chap test driving the American cut! Well done.
Thanks for the detailed review, Jim. After testing a lot of other brands for my tenor sax, my favourite is the American Cut also. Prefer it over the Signature. As you did, using the right embouchure, it does not sound too bright, and has a full sound at the low register. The only point I miss somewhat is, it responds too easy. It is hard to play quietly. I use the right strength, 2.5, im comparison to my Vandoren ZZ 2,5 I used before. Maybe a harder one helps.
I am so tired of product manufacturers ignoring baritone saxophonists. These reeds sound fantastic, and would help take the projection and clarity of my baritone sound to another level IF THEY MADE THEM.
Thanks a lot for the feedback, Pearce. Given the popularity of the American Cut so far, we'll be moving on to development of Soprano and Bari shortly. If you'd like to be considered for BETA testing head to legere.com/beta :)
A fabulous presentatiion - thanks Jim.
Very Good
Jim, when you do videos like this, can I suggest you put in the description what the rest of the setup is you use?
At the very end of the video, I've found myself preferring the sound of the American Cut over the D'Addario Jazz Select, the former just sounded fuller, with both the fundamental and upper partials being noticeably more present. I'm now even more intrigued to try them not only on tenor, but also on bass clarinet(my main horn), as there's been at least 1 report that the American Cut works well on bass clarinet too!
Jeah the new American Cut is fantastic 👍
Great video Jim, sounds great.
just now switched to American Cut after a month of steady practice with them for Alto and Soprano ( 2 and 2.5 ) just wish they designed the case to have a slot to keep the tip flat I just insert it the other way but an excellent reed A+++
Are use the signature for several years. I just found out about the American cut and I’m gonna try to get my hands on one in Asia? D Dario select is my favorite and then Rico Jazz select.
I treated an American Cut reed with suspicion, but after a few months now I'm very happy with it. Some reviews suggest maybe you can't "push" them as hard - and maybe this is true, but isn't a problem in the music I play.
You sound great and thank you for sharing your talent!🙏🏾
Reed 1 - cane
Reed 2 - Legere American Cut
Reed #2 sounds like cane to me. I love your videos, reviews and even the time you thought you were opening a special edition red EWI (or equivalent) only to find it was mis-boxed. I hope to visit your store in person one day!
Reed #2 was the Legere - it's amazing how great they sound. Thanks for your comment John, we hope to see you in-store very soon!
Ha, thanks for that John!
As a jazz musician that has tried just about every synthetic Reed and when I bought my 66r a user of the signature , I’ve been highly critical of légère because they were expensive and always cracked vertically after a couple of weeks!!!!
Well six weeks ago I got an American cut 2.75 and guess what, no more cracks and it sound a little better to me than the sigs!!! And guess what else I’m going to do, order a coupe more!
By the way, is that a mauriat system 76 series II?........it sounds dam good!
😡👊🏾
Been using Legere reeds for over a decade and never had a problem with cracking.
Jazz marcel bro what the hell are you doing to crack a legere signature reed in a couple of weeks?! It says more about you than it does the reed
@@cringebutyee1326 huh!........ simply I play long hours! Hey apparently you don’t play! Besides go to the big sax forums and read the comments to see that it is actually quite common on specifically the signatures!👊🏾😡
Jazz marcel First of all, how dare you assume I don't play based on no evidence at all. I play alto thanks. Secondly, I've never seen any complaints before yours about legere synthetics breaking. I'm not saying you lie, just saying I haven't, so stop getting so elitist
Clicked on the video and kind of disappointed George wasn't there. Really enjoy a different view point from the other side of the horn.
George has moved back up into the north of England! We hope to get him down for some more videos in the future
I'm waiting for someone to come out and say it doesn't sound like a cane reed exactly but "I LIKE IT BETTER". Yeah, it's okay to prefer the sound of a synthetic reed.
I would like to know how to properly cut synthetic reeds.
American-cut 2.5 for tenor is still my reed-of-choice, but for some reason I never got on with it on alto. Didn't help that first time the alto strength-choice was wildly off, and even exchanging the reed it was still too strong.
Another thirty quid then and I found one that was playable. But, never quite as comfy on alto as tenor. Never able to get the top-end quite as cleanly, completely killed the altissimo that I was able to get on cane reeds.
In the end I managed to split the alto reed by catching it with my sleeve with three short, neat slits (an expensive mistake to make) and have been back playing cane since.
Tone was ok, but playability (on alto) just didn't do it for me.
Thanks!!
I’m just learning to play Alto, the sound I’m going for is something like Forever in love by Kenny G, or Kaori Kobayashi’s rendition of nothings gonna change my love. When you recommend the American cut for soft pop jazz, would you recommend this reed for the type of music I want to play?
Awesome. Wow
I hope the legere was reed two.
What are the various reed strength of the American Cut? How does the reed strength compare to the Signature? Is it similar ( i.e. 2 1/2 American = 2 1/2 Signature, etc.)? The Signature is much more resistant than a cane reed (Vandoren, D'Adarrio, etc.) of the same number.
I found the American Cut to feel softer, so I'm going to increase by ¼ to 2.75 from 2.5.
@@ldever3 I thought it was just me. Thanks for posting! I think that I'll go up a quarter size as well from 3.25 to 3.5.
There's a big comparison table on the Legere website
Please do a video of how to get a lenny pickets tone
Reed 2 seems to be brighter, so I think it's the synthetic reed ?
Thanks for this demonstration. 👍
Correct!
What was the tenor mouthpiece Jim was playing? It kinda looks like a retro revival, but I can't really tell
Looks like a Jody Jazz, to me. OOPS. I had to correct myself.
Yes, this is Jim's Retro Revival Super D Mouthpiece
What is the sizes available in Legere Signature n America cut ? Thank you.
How flexible is it on the vibrato said ? Does this feel diferente at all with vibrato then the signature one ?
Just curious-what type of mouthpiece are you playing on your alto?
What size are u using?
For me the American Cut is too buzzy.
The american cut reeds are shit in my opinion. Out of the box they sound and feel good, but then decayed rapidly over the following 6 Months (with a weekly playtime of roughly 2-3h). The reed got softer (as expected) but at some point started to sound incredibly dull and muffled. Do not recommend. Best thing about die AC is the included reedbox.
Have been playing on many synthetic reeds over the years. My absolute favorite are the legere signature, which last a good year for me before becoming too soft. They do keep their sound much better than the american cuts in my opinion.
Hell No. Far from the best.
Which Legere do you find best?
@@ghawk78 I've played legere signatures for the last year and tried american cut recently, but by miles I prefer firacell premier reeds (switched a few months ago). The sound itself is subjective, but they have by far better respose across the whole range, from very low, beautiful subtones to altissimo. Legeres work best only in the mid range. I find fiberreeds much better than legeres too. Legeres are very inconsistent in terms of strength. With the same strength number the actual strength varies a lot. I had 8 legeres and each time I feel it's a lottery. I exchanged 3 times.
@@kuzmajacek Oh, ok...I just assumed that you were talking about the best Legere.